Banana Split Cake

Name: Banana Split Layer Cake Recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 95 min
Ingredients: 2 cups white sugar ((400g)); 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened ((170g) Not overly soft, but it should dent easily when pressed.); 3 large eggs, room temperature (If in a hurry, place in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.); 3 cups cake flour (see notes for substitution) ((342g)); 1 tablespoon baking powder ((12g)); 1/2 tsp baking soda ((3g)); 1/2 teaspoon salt ((3g)); 1 1 /2 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas); 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ((8g)); 1 1/2 cups buttermilk ((363g)); 16 oz cream cheese, softened (We used two 8 oz packages, full fat.); 2 cups powdered sugar, sift then measure ((230g)); 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ((8g)); 3 cups heavy whipping cream ((696g)); Sliced Strawberries (approximately 3-5 strawberries per layer of filling); 16 oz Crushed Pineapple, drained ((we used two drained 8 oz cans)); 6 oz Chocolate (Semi-sweet or Dark) We used Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate ((171g)); 6 oz Heavy Cream ((171g)); Maraschino cherries with stems; 8 B french tip or similar large star piping tip (Optional) ( Optional)); Tip 21 for small shell border around base ((Optional))

Today we are sharing the most delicious Banana Split Cake with you. It has jumped to the top of our list summertime favorites!

If you love banana cake recipes, you will love this fun twist with so many delicious flavors.

This Banana Split Layer Cake Recipe is the best! Banana Cake Layers are filled with strawberries, pineapple, whipped cream cheese frosting & chocolate. So good!

Inspired by a Banana Split, this ultra moist banana split cake has amazing flavor, with a filling of pineapple, strawberries, whipped cream cheese frosting & chocolate sandwiched between soft and flavorful banana cake layers.

Whether you are looking for summer cakes or birthday cake ideas, this banana split layer cake is sure to please a crowd.

Table of Contents

How to Make a Banana Split Layer Cake

Make sure to check out the full, printable Banana Split Cake recipe card further down in this post. Here is a quick look at our steps!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease and flour three 8x2 inch round pans. You could use two 9 inch pans it you do not have 8 inch pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds, set aside.
In another bowl, add the wet ingredients: buttermilk, vanilla and mashed bananas. Blend and set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer, add the slightly softened butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid.) Mix just until well blended- be careful not to over-mix.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cake is done with a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes on a cooling rack before turning out.

Assembly

In addition to our banana cake layers, the stars of todays cake are our luscious whipped cream cheese frosting, drained, crushed pineapple, sliced strawberries, and decadent dark chocolate ganache. With this amazing combination of flavors, you can't go wrong.

To assemble the cake, place the first cake layer on your pedestal or cake base.

Next, spread with a layer of the whipped cream cheese frosting. This frosting recipe is SO good and has a light, luscious consistency that is similar to whipped cream, but is more stable. Here's a closeup!

I like to pipe a dam of frosting around the top edge of the cake (about ½ inch from the edge) before filling with fruit to help keep everything contained.

Spread the *drained*, crushed pineapple and strawberry slices on top.

Banana Split Layer Cake Recipe- This recipe is the best!

Next, drizzle with a little of the chocolate ganache. (I drizzle my ganache by spooning it into a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away so that I have more control.)

Add the next banana cake layer and repeat the steps for filling, finishing with the third layer of banana cake.

Fill in any gaps between the cake layers with frosting (I use a piping bag with the tip snipped away for this) and frost with the remaining whipped cream cheese frosting.

Decorating the Banana Split Cake

For a smooth finish, I spread on the frosting with an offset spatula, then smooth over it with a bench scraper.

If you still want it smoother, you can freeze the frosted cake tier for about 15 minutes to firm things up, and the go over it once more with a heated bench scraper, adding fresh frosting as needed. This is often referred to as the hot knife method of smoothing.

Adding the Ganache Drip

Finally, add the ganache drip! We used a dark chocolate ganache drip (equal parts chocolate & heavy cream by weight), heated in the microwave in small increments until melted and smooth.

Consistency of Ganache: If the ganache is too runny, allow to cool a few more minutes. If it is too thick, it needs do be warmed a bit more (just a few seconds at a time in the microwave).

You can find lots of great information on making and applying a ganache drip in our Ganache Drip Tutorial.

We applied our ganache using a disposable piping bag, but you could also simply spoon it over the cake, just as with our Easy Boston Cream Pie!

Banana Split Cake with Ganache, assembly.

As a final touch, I used an 8B french tip to pipe cream cheese frosting around the top and added maraschino cherries! I love the look!

*We did not use nuts in this cake but some banana splits do have either pecans or peanuts- if you'd like another layer of flavor, you can sprinkle some on top or in the filling!

This Banana Split Layer Cake recipe is the best! This is the perfect summertime cake!

Recipe FAQs

Yes, because of the fruit, cream, and cream cheese, this cake should be refrigerated (in an airtight container, under a cake dome, or sealed in a bakery box).

However, for the very best flavor and texture, remove the cake from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving. This will allow time for the cake to warm and soften.

Yes, just as with the majority of our cakes from Italian Cream Cake to lemon cake, white velvet cake and more, these cake layers freeze beautifully.

Allow the baked banana cake layers to cool until slightly warm (or room temperature), and the wrap each layer individually in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. For added support you can place each layer on a foil wrapped cake board if you'd like. They will stay fresh in the freezer for up to three months!

To thaw, move the wrapped, frozen cake layers to the kitchen counter. Remove the wrapping after 30-45 minutes or so. Then, continue to warm to desired amount for decorating. (Some decorators prefer to assemble their cakes while the layers are still partially frozen as they are less fragile.)

Using buttermilk rather than regular milk adds a boost of acidity to the cake batter. This softens the strands of gluten, which makes for a softer, more tender cake. Our vanilla buttermilk cake, buttermilk pound cake, and key lime pound cake are just a few more examples of delicious buttermilk cake recipes!

Cake flour has a lower protein content than all purpose flour. This lessens the development of gluten in the cake batter, which makes for a more tender crumb.

Many of our favorite cake recipes contain cake flour, including orange cake, strawberry cake, pistachio cake, and more.

More Banana Cakes

If you love banana cakes, don't miss these other great recipes! Aside from today's Banana Split Cake, some of our most popular are our Banana Pudding Cake, Hummingbird Cake, Banana Pudding Cupcakes, and Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting!

If you love pineapple, another star player in this dessert, keep our pineapple cake, pineapple upside down bundt cake, and pina colada cake recipes in mind as well!

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this moist banana split cake. We would love for you to check out our full collection of hundreds of cake recipes, which includes cake recipes from scratch as well as cake mix recipes.

We also have a huge collection of free cake decorating video tutorials. You'll find all sorts of designs from birthday cake design ideas to holiday cakes, elegant cakes, baby shower cakes, and more.

Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!